Chasing Daydreams
by TheStarLightMusical
Summary: AU: Korra has spent five years in a mental institution for schizophrenia, but maybe there is something more to her condition and that's exactly what Tenzin wants to find out so he takes her to stay with him and his family. But before she'll say anything they have to gain her trust. i hope enjoy,first fanfic :)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

AU: Korra has spent five years in a mental institution for schizophrenia, but maybe there is something more to her condition and that's exactly what Tenzin wants to find out so he takes her to stay with him and his family. But before she'll say anything they have to gain her trust.

I don't own Legend of Korra

"Trust is like a piece of paper, once it's crumpled it can't be perfect again."

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy! This is my first fanfic, it's kind of a short first chapter but oh well...

Special thank to mangagurlz who is helping with this me with this story and to all of you who told me how to fix it :) I tried my best I hope it turned out better now...

BTW I reformatted for it would be easier to read...

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Korra was always a little _off_, she would always talk to someone when she was alone. Her mother brushed it off as the girl having imaginary friends.

One day Korra told an entire back story of one of her imaginary friends, she was only six. Her father scolded her and told her she was too old for imaginary friends and she needed real friends.

"No, they aren't imaginary Dad, they're real and they talk to me." Korra tried to explain, that made her father angrier.

"Go to your room, now! I don't want to hear you talking to them again." Korra sadly went to her room like he told her to.

From that age up, whenever Korra would be caught talking to 'so-called-imaginary-friends' she would get in trouble. Her mother was much less harsh, usually she would only tell her not to do that. But he father would scream and, sometimes even, physically punish her.

When she was around ten, she told her parents what the 'voices' would say, and that's when they decided their daughter was crazy. Her father tried to fix it without much help, only a few therapy session here and there. But at age twelve her parents got fed up and sent her to a treatment center.

"I'm not crazy!" The girl screeched, "why won't you listen to me?"

Her mother looked at her child sympathetically, but her father scowled. "No, you are, no normal person would hear voices, you will go to this treatment center and they will make you better. Understood?"

The girl began crying, she wasn't crazy but her father wouldn't believe her, and her mother wasn't going to do anything.

Her father then sent her to her room and her parents discussed what they were going to do with her in the meantime. All Korra could do was sit and listen.

She screamed and she begged but when it came time her parents still sent her away.

She didn't trust anyone after that. How could she, they were the people you should trust the most and they called her a crazy and basically a liar.

Her parents, at first, visited often. But after a couple of years of Korra freaking out whenever they visited, they slowed down, and only visited every couple months. Recently they stopped coming altogether.

After that the only people she saw ever, were the nurses and psychologists. She usually hid herself away, she was all alone, with only the voices to talk to.

"I heard about this girl, they said she's like, seventeen, while I volunteered at the Mental Institution for Troubled Teens. The nurses were saying that she was nowhere near recovery, in fact all she does gets is worse. They say she claims to hear voices and they tell her crazy stories and whatnot. She's been there for five years, no one thinks she'll ever get out. They say she'll probably just be sent to a mental ward for older people." The boy said to a man.

"So, these nurses are gossiping? How do you know it isn't just rumors?" The man asked.

"I, uh, don't really know that, I was just saying…. because you know, that woman wants you to read about the institution and you are suppose to help out some patients you know, I was just making some suggestions.." the boy said.

"Who are you anyway?" The man asked, the man's name name was Tenzin, and for some reason the boy had started talking to him a few minutes ago.

"I'm….never mind, I have to go." The boy said, at that he wandered off leaving Tenzin behind. The boy was right, though, he was suppose to look into the institution and help patients out.

Tenzin looked through the paperwork in his hands, he was familiar with mentally ill people, considering he had met a bunch and knew how to handle them, most of the time. But, really at the point he wasn't sure if he had time. He had three children and another on the way and his job made him a busy man, how could he even find time to help the institution?

Nevertheless, he was asked and he agreed, so he was now stuck with it. He was suppose to visit the institution in a few days, after finishing what he was doing, he went home.

"Apparently, I'm going to be helping patients out at the institution," he explained.

"Really, are you volunteering?" She asked, "Yes." He replied.

"Alright, I hope it all works out, I have to go make dinner." She said getting up.

"Mom, Dad, Ikki isn't sharing!" A little girl said coming into the room, followed by a little boy.

"I already did share!" Said another little girl, "No you didn't, don't lie." The older little girl said, she was around ten and her name was Jinora.

"Yes I did, you're just stupid." Ikki said, "Why you—"

"Girls, stop it this instant!" Tenzin said, they did as he said and stopped. "Now what is this about?"

"Ikki wouldn't share with us."

"No I did, really Dad!"

"Alright." Tenzin sighed, "What is it you're suppose to be sharing?"

"Candy!" The little boy whose name was Meelo shouted. _Spirits_, Tenzin thought.

"How much candy is there?"

"An entire bag." His wife said, "your brother gave it to them earlier when he came, I told them not to eat it all at a time."

"How much did you eat?" Tenzin asked, "like two pieces." Jinora said.

"One." Meelo said. Tenzin looked over at Ikki who looked down sheepishly. "Like five," She mumbled.

"Okay, give your brother and sister some more and then no more candy for today."

Ikki left the room with Jinora and Meelo to give them more candy. There was silence before he spoke again "So my brother came over earlier?"

"Yeah, he didn't stay long, he mostly hung out with the kids…" She said as she put the vestibules in the pot, "so what kind of patients at the institution will you be working with?"

"I'm not sure yet, they're going to explain everything to me tomorrow." Tenzin said, she nodded.

"I see, okay then." They called the kids in and had a nice little family dinner.

The atmosphere of the institution was always nerve-racking, there were patients anywhere between the ages of twelve to eighteen. Generally, they weren't in there too long, if they were that meant they were seriously mentally ill.

Korra, was amongst those of which who had stayed, she never got better, only worse. She was very standoffish most days and other very rare days, she would be outgoing and would talk to all of the workers and patients, having complete converations.

No one, aside from the staff saw her when she was Dark Korra, as the nurses always would call it. The staff would talk about her psychotic episodes but the patients were iffy about it, she sometimes had a bad temper, but not any worse than any other girl her age. She was funny, friendly, talkative nothing out of the ordinary. The girl the staff talked about seemed really unbelievable.

But she saw things that weren't there, she heard voices. It made her crazy, nurses would go to give her food, most of the time they didn't see her, but when they did it was bad. She never had really harmed anybody, scared them, granted, but she just hid away from them most of the time.

Recently, though, Korra stopped leaving her room altogether, she stayed in permanent dark Korra mode. No one ever saw her, she never talked to anyone and was always extremely alert. Korra barely touched her food, no matter who went to talk to her, she wouldn't come out of her hiding spot.

"What are we going to do with her?"One of the doctors asked.

"We'll give her some more time, but I think we need to send her to another institution., one that would be more suited for her." The other replied.

Korra listened as the exchanged conversation, wishing not to be sent away to another place like this, she wanted home or something. It felt like a prison. But like everything else in her life, it was out of her control.

She knew they would not release her because they all thought she was crazy. Even though she explained to them she wasn't.

But one, day she would get out, one day very soon she hoped.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AU: Korra has spent five years in a mental institution for schizophrenia, but maybe there is something more to her condition and that's exactly what Tenzin wants to find out so he takes her to stay with him and his family. But before she'll say anything they have to gain her trust.

I don't own Legend of Korra

"No one can ever understand how you really feel. You can tell them everything, your life story, you can be description on every little feeling and detail. But even so, none of that will be enough to understand."

Author Note: Oh my god I can't believe how much feedback I've gotten, thank you guys! This is awesome! I'm so excited!….Ahem anyway thank you to Mangagurlz as well. :)

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"We have a large staff, but recently, we've needed assistance, so that is why we decided to confront a number of people like you. Luckily we got a lot more positive responses from the people than expected. Our patients are generally pretty friendly, but some are snippy toward people they have never met." The doctor explained as he showed Tenzin around the hospital.

"But recently our patients have been acting out, but that is because it is close to the holidays, some don't want to go home for the holidays and others want to, there's only a few patients that aren't upset at the time." The doctor stated.

"What patients are these?" Tenzin inquired.

"Mostly ones that claim they have no control so why even bother trying." A nurse answered.

"Not necessarily." Said the doctor, the nurse shrugged. "The patients I've talked to say that…."

"Oh, what patients are that?" The doctor asked.

"Hmm, well I went go give food to Korra and—"

"Korra talked to you, when?" The doctor asked astonished. "Earlier today."

"Why hadn't you informed me of this earlier." The doctor asked.

"Sorry, I spaced it."

"Spaced it!" Both had forgotten Tenzin was standing there, but one of the other nurses tapped the doctor's shoulder and pointed toward Tenzin.

"Um Doctor Haruo …."

"Oh right, my apologies Tenzin, let me finish showing you around the facility." The doctor said as he gestured Tenzin to follow him.

"So what type of patients am I suppose to help out with?" Tenzin asked.

"You can pick out some, if you're asking about what kind of mental illness we have a wide variety, anxiety, mood disorders, psychosis, eating disorders, personality disorders. Stuff like that."

"I see." Tenzin said.

"We'll assign you some patients, are you familiar with mental illness, Tenzin?" Haruo asked.

"A little, I've known a couple people who were mentally ill." Tenzin told the him.

"Well, the patients vary between moderate and severe." Haruo explained.

"Our most severe patient is either Kor-"

"That is enough, please, go along and help out one of the other nurses." The nurse mumbled to herself as she walked off, Doctor Haruo sighed. "I'm sorry, some of the staff can be, well, blabbermouths. Let's finish looking around the facility." Doctor Haruo said.

After Haruo showed Tenzin all of the places in the facility, he gave him some more paperwork and said he could go home, but as Tenzin left he heard as the nurses gossiping, he didn't pay attention until once again, the patient named Korra was mentioned.

"Korra's got to be the worse case we've got." One brown haired nurse said.

"Did you hear how her doctor wants to send her away to a institution that will meet her needs. Do you know what that means?" Said another smaller black haired woman.

"That this place sucks?" The first nurse said.

"No, well, yes, but what I was trying to get at was Korra is seriously insane, not even her doctor can handle her and he's Haruo for Pete's sake! Best psych doctor around!" The second one said.

"Woah, you're right, a patient has never failed Doctor Haruo, ever. Goodness, she must be bad off, poor dear, I heard her parents stopped coming to see her because she would get so upset…."

"I think what happened is, she would freak out tell them crazy shit and they just didn't want to deal with their daughter being a lunatic, can't blame them, I would hate to be in their shoes." The second nurse said, "So what's wrong with her anyway?" The other asked.

"Oh, she's schizophrenic, I believe. She hears and sees things that aren't there." She answered.

"How long has she been here?" The brown haired woman asked.

"Five years, she's seventeen, I've worked here this long, I barely see her though, I don't make much of an effort."

"How long has she been seeing and hearing things?" The smaller woman shrugged, "since she was, like, between three and five."

"Oh, poor girl, it doesn't generally set in that early, that makes since why she's so mentally ill…"

"Mari, Amaya get back to work." Someone said as they passed them, they stopped talking and went back to helping doctors and patients out. Tenzin left after that.

* * *

Tenzin went home, but couldn't stop thinking about what the nurses said, Pema set up dinner and the kids were already eating, Meelo and Ikki started squabbling, Pema broke it up and dinner became peaceful again.

Tenzin had barely touched his food, and it was worrying Pema "Tenzin, is everything alright?" Pema asked, "You seem a little spacey."

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm just thinking, it's been a long day." Tenzin told her, at that he began eating with the rest of his family. Pema put the kids to sleep after dinner, Tenzin still seemed deep in thought.

"Tenzin, are you coming to bed?" Pema asked, snapping him out of it.

"Oh, no not yet." He said.

"What's wrong, did something happen today?" Pema asked.

"No, not really, I just have a lot of paperwork to do." Tenzin explained. "Alright, then goodnight."

"Oh, uh, goodnight Pema." She went off to bed, Tenzin looked through the paperwork, most of it was questioning him on how well he knew mental illness. After filling everything out he went to bed, but he couldn't sleep, the 'Korra' girl was still buzzing in his head.

He decided, that, the next time he talked to Doctor Haruo, he would ask about her.

* * *

Today, was the day, Tenzin was going to go back to the intuition to give Doctor Haruo the paperwork. He walked into the office, the man looked up and him "Oh, Tenzin, I'm glad you came, how did the paperwork go?"

"Alright, I filled it all out." Tenzin said handing the paper to the man.

"Perfect, thank you, do you have any questions?" Doctor Haruo asked, "One."

"Oh, what would that be?" Doctor Haruo asked.

"I've heard a lot about this Korra girl." Haruo looked up from his paper quickly, he stared at Tenzin shocked.

"Korra, what do you need to know about her?" The doctor asked.

"I think she's one of the patients I would like to help." Tenzin told him, The doctor shook his head.

"No, she isn't going to be a patient much longer, and—"

"Well, could I see her at least?" Tenzin disputed.

Haruo hesitated. "Well, I guess, but she's really, how do I put this, she doesn't do well with anyone. Especially strangers, so she'll probably freak out…"

"Thank you." Tenzin said. "Hmm, well I guess you can come and see her today, I mean there isn't anything scheduled for her and hasn't been recently. Just let me inform her first, come with me."

Haruo led Tenzin to through the mental institution and made Tenzin wait outside the door.

"Korra, someone is here to see, you his name is Tenzin, please, be polite." Her doctor said, Korra nodded, Haruo opened the door and let Tenzin in.

"This is my long lasted patient Korra, say hello please." Haruo said.

"Hello." Korra murmured barely audible, "Hello, Korra, I am Tenzin, how are you doing?" Korra didn't reply, and made sure not to make any contact by looking down.

"Korra, please, don't be rude, answer Ten—"

Tenzin cut the doctor off, "So, Korra, how old are you?"

Korra was hesitant to answer, but did it anyway. "I-I think seventeen…"

"Seventeen?" Tenzin repeated, Korra nodded. Tenzin tried to think of something else to ask her.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Korra asked.

"I wanted to meet you, I heard lots about you." Korra laughed a little at him, he probably was just another doctor.

"Korra, please, don't be rude." Haruo said.

"It's fine doctor, I want her express how she truly feels. Korra, how do you really like it here?" Tenzin asked. Korra, shrugged.

"Don't worry, I won't be mad." Tenzin said, Korra stayed looking down.

"I think she's nervous because I'm standing here, I'll be right outside if you need me." Haruo said, he slipped out and left the two in private.

"Do you like it here Korra, or do you not? You can be truthful." Korra wasn't sure how should would reply, she couldn't just say she hated it and wish she was out, she didn't think it was allowed. On the other hand he was telling her not to lie.

"No, not really." Korra admitted.

"Why, do you not like the staff?" Tenzin asked.

"Well, it isn't really that, I, just don't like how I'm locked up, and everyone here thinks I'm either a liar, crazy or both. I want to get out of here." Korra said.

"Do you want to go home?" Tenzin inquired. That one, panged Korra's heart, of course she wanted to go home. But her parents hated her.

"I-I don't know, just as long as it isn't here…" Tenzin found this as an opening.

"Korra, how would you like it, if I took you with me for a couple of weeks?" Korra, finally, looked up at him. "What?"

"It won't be long and you won't have to be here for the holidays, just a little break." Korra thought for a moment.

"A-are you sure?" She asked, Tenzin nodded.

"I guess…"

Yes, this was his chance, this was his chance to find out what was really wrong with her. "Great, I'll talk to Doctor Haruo."

Tenzin left the room, surprising the doctor, he hadn't expected Tenzin to come out, actually, he thought, Korra would start going off before that happened.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"It went fine, but Korra and I talked and we want you to allow me to take Korra home with me."

"What!?"

"Yes, Korra would like to stay with me." Tenzin told him. "Are you sure, Tenzin, I mean she is quite a handful—"

"It will be fine, please, only for over the holiday." Haruo let out a sigh. "I suppose so, here I'll go and inform everybody, go get Korra, she doesn't have anything to take with her, I have to file some paperwork…" At that the doctor left.

After around two hours Tenzin was allowed to bring Korra home with him, he had to call his wife first and inform her. She was pleased with Korra coming.

On the way there, it was really quiet, Korra kept her eyes glued to the floor. Korra was unsure of what to feel, she didn't know if it should be happy, nervous or both. She wasn't sure how friendly everyone was going to be.

But there was one thing she knew, which was, she couldn't get to comfortable, it wasn't only going to be two weeks and, this 'Tenzin' guys was probably just use her, then dump her back there and have no further use for her.

She couldn't let her guard down. It was the only thing she could control and she was keeping that.

Once they got there, Tenzin was greeted by his two of his children, Ikki and Meelo. "Where were you?" Meelo said.

"Yeah you totally missed dinner, it was really good to, Mom was so worried and who is that?" Ikki said noticing Korra.

"Ikki, Meelo, this is Korra, she's going to be staying with us for a couple of weeks, alright."

"Awesome!" Meelo said, he grabbed Korra, but she pulled away from him. Which confused him, Pema and Jinora walked in just as it happened.

"Meelo, Ikki, please, go play, your sister will join you in a minute." Tenzin told them, both left.

Jinora looked a Korra curiously, and Pema smiled. "Oh I see you brought her."

"Yes Pema, Jinora, this right here is Korra. I brought her here to spend the holidays because she had no where else to go."

"Hello." Jinora said politely as ever. "Are you hungry, Korra?" Pema asked. Korra shook her no. "Here, Korra, let me show you to your room." Tenzin said, Korra followed her while slightly glances at Pema and Jinora.

Tenzin showed her into a room, it was simple it had a bed and a night stand.

"Go ahead Korra, make yourself at home." Tenzin left her alone and she could get use to her surroundings.

And Korra realized, for the first time, in awhile, she was in a real bedroom.

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Extra Author's Note: Sorry it ended here, I'm tired, please review and tell me any errors I made, I like constructive criticism. Tomorrow, after school, I'll come in and edit anything I missed. I hope you enjoyed. I appreciate all the review, favorites, and follows I got and it'd be cool to have more! :)


	3. NOT A CHAPTER BUT IMPORTANT!

_**NOT A CHAPTER AN AUTHORS NOTE!**_

**I know, I know how much everyone hates Author's Note but I'm not sure where this is extactly headed and maybe some advice would be nice but I also hurt my hand a couple of weeks ago and it's being a pain I've gotta type this will one hand.**

**So please don't hate me and give me some ideas if it isn't too much to ask?**

**Please P.M me the ideas unless you don't use the pm feature or you are a guest **

**Sincerely**

**Me, StarLight**


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